As Finland decided to join NATO, President Sauli Niinisto informed President Vladimir Putin in a “direct and straightforward” way.
Kremlin said Finland’s decision to join the European military alliance was viewed by President Putin as a “mistake since there is no threat to Finland’s security”.
“Such a change in the country’s political orientation can have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations developed over years in a spirit of good neighbourliness,” Kremlin said.
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Earlier, Finland had said Russia suspended electricity supplies to the country. The Russian energy firm said it had decided to suspend electricity over payment issues.
Finland’s NATO application was not welcomed by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who declared his county did not have a “positive opinion” over the issue.
Watch: Erdogan says Turkey is not in favour of Sweden & Finland’s NATO bid
“Scandinavian countries are like a guesthouse for terror organisations,” Turkey’s president alleged. The White House said it was “working to clarify Turkey’s position” after Erdogan’s comments calling “Turkey a valued NATO ally”.
Finland and Sweden have been calling for NATO membership after Russian President Putin declared his “special military operation” against Ukraine.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, “big majority of the Turkish people are against the membership of those countries who are supporting PKK terrorist organization.”
“But these are the issues that we need to talk of course with our NATO allies as well as these countries,” Cavusoglu added.
Amid the reports of Finland set to join NATO, the leader of Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov signed a decree to hold a referendum to join Russia. Bibilov had lost his bid re-election bid earlier this month.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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